It was 800 years ago, but as usual, Rumi said it best:
The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don’t go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want.
Don’t go back to sleep.
My little dog Belle’s birthday is Tuesday, October 20th.
(A date she proudly shares with Kamala Harris and Snoop Dogg.)
When I asked her what she wanted for her birthday––since this year is (incredibly) her Super Sweet Sixteen––she asked for a red Ferrari and Aerosmith.
I negotiated that down to 7 people on our roof.
But in her typically generous fashion, she suggested that I give all of you a gift instead.
A PDF of the book I wrote about all she’s taught me, UPWARD DOG.
You can download it for free HERE.
Here’s one of the many short essays within.
ASK FOR WHAT YOU REALLY WANT
Belle has absolutely no problem asking for what she wants.
Even without words, no matter what the situation, there’s absolutely no doubt about what she’s asking for whenever she fixes those amber eyes on you.
We humans, however, are far less straightforward. In fact, we often downplay or even deny what we truly desire most.
We don’t ask for the raise we know we deserve.
We stay stuck in bad relationships, or else we never let that special someone know how we really feel.
Why is it the case that we, gifted with speech and strategy, can’t express our desires, whereas Belle never holds back?
How is it that our fear of rejection somehow trumps the possibility of our greater happiness?
Why is the “no” so dreaded that we don’t even risk asking the question?
Belle takes none of my “no’s” personally.
Simply put, she’s in touch with her inherent worthiness, while we are not.
Her self-esteem is not contingent on my sharing my lunch with her.
If denied, she may lobby for another round of Fetch but pretty quickly she moves forward with her life.
We humans, on the other hand, are not nearly as solidly secure in who we are.
We take any and all rejection painfully to heart, assuming we’ve got to adjust or fix something about ourselves to win some universal, never-ending popularity contest.
Yoga teaches us that we are not only completely worthy, our true nature is divine.
The ultimate goal of the practice is samadhi:
“A state in which the aspirant is one with the object of his meditation, the Supreme Spirit pervading the universe, where there is a feeling of unutterable joy and peace.”
(Iyengar’s Light on Yoga)
What yoga teaches us is how to remove all the barriers to that truth, to our complete, intrinsic worthiness.
Unlike Belle, who was born knowing she was worthy and has never forgotten this, as adults we have to relearn this truth.
If we follow her example and more and more freely EXPRESS OURSELVES, we’ll learn that now is always the time to boldly ask for what we really want.
Namaste for Now,
- Free download of Belle’s Book is HERE.
- Recent Wealth & Purpose podcast interview HERE.
- Apply for a coaching slot HERE.
